Would You Still Love Me the Same
by ofdreamcatchers
Summary: Regina never thought she'd see Mal again, not after how things ended between them. But now she's back, sparking old feelings she thought long buried. Can the two rekindle their lost romance after all these years, after their lives have changed so much. Dragon Queen. Florist/Tattoo Artist AU.
1. Chapter 1

Hi there! So this is my first attempt at writing DQ. I don't know what it is but this ship intrigues me so much. It's AU (cause they're the most fun to write in my opinion), obviously. Give it a try and let me know what you think.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Enjoy :)

* * *

Chapter 1

"Regina, get out here! You have to see this!"

Ruby's loud exclamation pulled Regina's attention away from the arrangement of flowers she was putting together. The brunette hurried out to the front of the store to see what all the fuss was about.

"What going on?" Regina questioned, glancing around to see nothing out of the ordinary inside the shop.

"Look!" Ruby practically squealed from her place at the front windows, her face nearly pressed into the glass.

Regina rolled her eyes affectionately at her young employee's antics. Over the few years they'd worked together, Regina had come to love the girl like a younger sister and considered her one of her closest friends. Even if she was a bit much to handle at times.

"What am I looking at?" She asked, humoring the girl and stepping up to the window beside her.

Ruby groaned, exasperated at the other woman's lack of enthusiasm, but tapped the glass excitedly, pointing across the street nonetheless. "The new place across the street is opening," she explained.

Regina couldn't deny that she was intrigued and peered around her window displays to get a better look at the previously abandoned building. Across the busy small town street there used to be an art gallery. It closed a few years ago and sat empty for years until recently. A small crew had begun work on the building, but they were very secretive about the whole thing, keeping a wooden wall blocking the storefront the entire time. Regina and the employees of the flower shop made a game out of guessing what the new business would be and now they were finally going to see.

"Queens of Darkness Tattoos and Piercings," Regina read out as the final board of wood was removed, giving them an unobstructed view of the sign.

"Woah," Ruby commented. "That's awesome."

"It's definitely something." Regina said taking in bold signage and animal prints at the end that seemed out of place.

Ruby rolled her eyes and playfully elbowed her boss.

"You sound like my granny," the younger woman complained.

"I'll tell her you said that," Regina replied dryly.

Ruby sighed and rolled her eyes again. "Stop being such a mom. Come on, let's go check it out."

"And you just leave the place empty? Maybe later." Regina reasoned, causing Ruby to grumble and turn her attention back out the window.

She wanted to have a look at the new shop as well but it would have to wait until after closing time. Based on the longing glances Ruby was sending across the street, she didn't think she'd last that long. With that Regina turned and started for the back room and her abandoned arrangement, but Ruby's shrill squeal stopped her in her tracks. Regina spun around so fast her long braid nearly smacked her in the face.

"Ruby!" She chastised, bringing her hand to rest over her heart, willing it to return to its normal rhythm.

"Sorry," Ruby quickly apologized for her outburst and looked toward the window. "Someone just came out of that place and she's headed this way."

"Okay?" Regina didn't understand what the big deal was.

Ruby bit her lip as she watched the woman crossing the street. "She's hot," she muttered under her breath.

Regina rolled her eyes for the thousandth time it seemed and grabbed Ruby by her elbow to pull her away from the window, where she was visible to the entire block. Regina lead the girl toward the back room, where she wouldn't be seen if she decided to start drooling.

"Kathryn and Jefferson should be back any minute. You can help them unload the van." Regina instructed, her tone leaving no room for argument. Ruby grumbled something Regina couldn't hear and sat down to wait for her co workers.

Regina started to say something, but was cut off by the sound of the bell above the door jingled. She narrowed her eyes at Ruby one last time, a clear warning to stay put, before heading out and behind the counter. She put on a big smile and cheerfully greeted the tall, blonde woman who had her back to the counter.

Her greeting was met with silence, the woman didn't even turn around she just continued to examine flowers as if Regina hadn't spoken. Regina's smile fell into a pout momentarily at being ignored, but she quickly adopted a neutral expression and made herself busy going through online orders for Jefferson.

Some time passed and Regina was so absorbed in her task of sorting through the orders that she didn't notice the woman looming over her until the blonde cleared her throat. Even the short noise was startling after the long stretch of silence and Regina's cheeks colored when she jumped slightly at the sound.

She avoided looking up for a moment to gather herself, but before she had the chance to look up, a single white daisy was dropped on the counter. The sight of the simple flower caused Regina's heart to drop to her stomach. Slowly her gaze lifted until big brown eyes met piercing blue.

Regina was stunned. All she could do was stand there and stare at the woman holding a second flower to her nose, inhaling its sharp, fresh scent. She smirked before dropping the flower beside the next.

"Mal?" Regina breathed out when she finally found her voice.

"Hello, dear." She responded, her smile anything but friendly.

* * *

What do you think? Should I continue?


	2. Chapter 2

Hey, there :) I wasn't expecting much from this story, but it seems like you guys really like it. Here is Chapter 2 (I promise there won't always be a month between updates). I wasn't really sure how I wanted this story to develop, as one reviewer pointed out there are a number of ways this could go, but now I have a clear picture and I'm really excited to share this with you all :)

Thank you to anyone who reviewed and fave or followed. Always makes me smile.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Enjoy.

* * *

Chapter 2

Regina went silent again, quickly averting her eyes from Mal's intense glare. She hadn't seen or heard from the blonde in almost a decade, and yet here she was looking down at her with those big blue eyes Regina had fallen in love with once upon a time. That was the past, she reminded herself, she'd made her choice all those years ago, a choice she's long regretted. The fact that Mal hadn't left the second she realized who she was was surprising in of itself. Or maybe that was the point.

An impatient sigh pulled Regina from her thoughts and she met those piercing eyes once more.

"If you're just going to stand there dear, I could always take my business elsewhere," Mal told her, her tone sharp. She wasn't joking.

Regina's cheeks colored again, but she squared her shoulders, easily slipping on her professional mask and pushing the memories of them that came flooding forward at the sight of the woman to the back of her mind.

"I'm sorry," she quickly apologized. "How can I help you?" She asked pleasantly, or as pleasantly as she could given the situation.

"My store is opening on Friday and the waiting area is looking pretty bare. I need something to liven the place up a bit."

Without thinking, Regina uttered the first thought that came to mind. "You need help livening up a tattoo parlor?"

Mal did not look amused with her slip and rolled her eyes.

"Clearly I have made a mistake coming here," she said turning on her heel and heading for the door.

Regina hurried around the counter, not ready for the other woman to be gone just yet after so long without her. She reached a hand out to grab Mal's arm, but immediately regretted it when the blonde ripped her arm out of her grasp.

"Don't," Mal warned.

Regina took a few steps back and hung her head. Even after all this time their separation still stung. Mal had every right to be angry with her, hate her even, but she wasn't the only one who was at fault for how things ended between the two of them.

Still, Regina apologized. "I'm sorry. I can help."

Mal stood halfway to the door, her head was telling her to leave and never look back. Regina had caused her enough pain to last a lifetime, but something inside her told her to stay. Slowly she turned back around to find Regina standing there, looking like a kicked puppy. Well, Regina had always had a flare for the dramatic she couldn't help but remember fondly.

Mal crossed her arms and leveled a glare at the brunette. Just because she was staying didn't mean she had to make it easy on Regina.

"Fine," she said after the silence had stretched on long enough.

"Great," Regina said, shooting the other woman a small smile before going back behind the counter. Her smile was not returned.

Mal approached the counter and leaned on her crossed arms. Her eyes drifted to the forgotten daisies and she smirked. The moment she realized it was Regina's flower shop she couldn't help but grab a few of the small flowers knowing the other woman would understand. And she had. Maybe Regina wasn't the only one with a dramatic streak.

"Is there any particular type of flower you're looking for?" Regina asked looking around the counter for their catalog. She found it under a stack of receipts and set it down between them.

"Nothing comes to mind," Mal said with a bored sigh, not even bothering to open the catalog. "What would you suggest?"

"That depends on a number of things really," Regina responded without missing a beat. "Your color scheme, how much sunlight they would get, how much time you'd have to care for them…"

Regina could have gone on but Mal held up her hand to stop her.

"I'll need something that I won't have to fuss over much, I won't have the time. I'm not a florist."

The dig hurt a bit, but Regina did her best not to let it show. She opened the catalog and flipped a few pages before finding the plant she was looking for.

"Here, a peace lily plant would be perfect," Regina said, pointing to the dark green plant with white blooms.

Mal looked down at the picture Regina was pointing to. It was a pretty plant and it would look good in her store's waiting area, but it wasn't the plant that caught her eye. She could see a bit of black ink on the inside of the brunette's wrist. Without thinking she took Regina's hand and flipped her arm to get a better look at the feather tattooed there, absentmindedly running her finger over the ink.

Regina's breath caught when Mal's cold fingers closed loosely around her hand, and she silently watched the other woman's eyes roam over her tattoo.

"Funny," Mal started barely above a whisper, her eyes never leaving her wrist. "This looks familiar."

Regina watched Mal's pained grimace and the way the anger, that had been burning behind her eyes during their entire exchange thus far, was replaced with sadness for a split second. Mal quickly recovered though and her hardened mask fell back into place. She cleared her throat and dropped Regina's hand, ignoring her in favor of looking through the catalog.

Regina watched, rubbing her wrist where it still tingled from the other woman's touch. She wanted so badly to say something, but every time she opened her mouth she couldn't find the right words.

After a long stretch of uncomfortable silence Mal looked up to meet Regina's gaze.

"These will do fine," she said, pushing the catalog back to Regina, ready to be done with the whole thing. It wasn't fun anymore.

Regina nodded and started to fill out an order slip. She did it as fast as she could without making it obvious what she was doing. Their interaction had gone from being so intense to so awkward in a matter of seconds and Regina couldn't handle those extremes in such a short period of time. In five minutes Mal's order was paid for and scheduled for delivery at the end of the week.

"Thank you," Mal said politely, just as ready for this to be over as Regina was.

Regina smiled, a smile she gave all customers, and nodded her head not trusting herself not to break down if she said another word.

Mal lingered at the counter a moment longer than was necessary, before turning for the door. She had her hand on the door ready to leave when she turned back toward Regina and opened her mouth before she could stop herself.

"See ya around," and then she was gone.

The brunette was a bit stunned by the friendly parting words and she let out a long sigh. The whole exchange had been a lot to deal with, but thinking about it, it could have gone a hell of alot worse. The way things had ended between them all those years ago, Regina was surprised her store wasn't burned to the ground. She was not exaggerating.

She took a moment to put everything back in it's place on the counter before turning around to get back to her arrangement. Instead of the empty doorway she'd been expecting, she was met with the expectant faces of Ruby, Kathryn, and Jefferson peeking around the doorframe.

"Is it safe to come out now?" Ruby whispered while Regina pressed a hand over her heart.

Regina jumped slightly and leveled a glare at her nosey friends. "What the hell are you guys doing?"

"I think the better question is, what just happened?" Jefferson asked, straightening up to lean on the doorframe.

"Nothing," Regina said, waving a hand dismissively. All three gave her a skeptical look.

"Didn't seem like nothing," Kathryn commented standing beside Jefferson, her concern for her best friend plain on her face.

"I'm fine," Regina assured them, even though they all knew it was a lie.

"So you guys were like together?" Ruby asked pushing her way between the pair blocking the doorway.

Regina rolled her eyes, but nodded her head affirmatively. "It was a long time ago and we weren't on the best of terms when we separated."

"Clearly," Jefferson mumbled under his breath, but they all heard it. Kathryn elbowed him in the ribs for that.

"Can we just drop it?" Regina asked letting out a long sigh and running a hand through her hair.

"Yeah," Ruby piped up quickly. She knew when to test Regina's limits and now was not the time. "Back to work!" she said, all business and clapped her hands before making her way around the counter to check that the store was in order.

The adults rolled their eyes at the girl.

X

Across the street, Mal wasn't in much better shape. When she'd decided to stay and mess with Regina a little she hadn't been prepared for the emotional rollercoaster she would be putting herself through. She should have left the second she'd heard Regina's voice. She was a fool to think she'd be unaffected by the other woman, even after all these years.

"You alright, darling?"

The voice startled Mal out of her thoughts. Vic was sat on the floor of the waiting area with large print outs of their art surrounding her. Mal hadn't realized she'd stopped in the middle of the room after entering the shop.

"Fine."

"Well, you don't look it," said a second voice before Ursula stepped out of what was to be her room to work.

"And how would you know, you were back there," Mal replied defensively, not helping her case in the least.

"I'm looking at you now and you my friend are not fine," Ursula pointed out with a raised eyebrow.

"What's the matter? Florist got you down?" Vic chimed in from the floor.

Mal looked between her friends and groaned. She really hated when they ganged up on her like that. They bickered back and forth like the old married couple they were and when they focused on Mal they were relentless.

"I promise I'm fine," Mal told them firmly. "We have a lot to do before Friday, let's get to it."

Both women eyed her suspiciously for a moment before deciding to let the matter drop for now.

"Let's," Vic said, going back to looking through the piles of printouts on the floor. Ursula lingered for another moment before heading back to whatever she'd been doing in her room.

Mal let out a relieved sigh and made her way to the back of the store to the office. She closed the door behind her and closed her eyes. Out of all the places in the world she had to be opening a shop a hundred feet from the woman she'd spent years trying to get over. Fate must have it in for her.

And "see ya around", where the hell had that come from? Walking right into Regina's shop had been an accident, but she had no intention of seeing the brunette again any time soon. She knew it would be impossible to avoid her for very long, what with working across the street from each other and living in such a small town, but a girl could try right.

What a mess. And it was only the beginning.

* * *

What do you think? I didn't want to get too far into what happened between these ladies because that's a major part of the plot I have mapped out, but you'll probably be able to guess in the coming chapters. Promise.

Let me know what you all think.


	3. Chapter 3

An update! And in the same month! I'd say I'm doing good with this one. Lol (ignore me)

Okay so, I meant to mention it earlier, but this story will feature little Emma and little Lily. If that's not your thing, I'm sorry. But if it is I really hope you like what I'm doing here.

This chapter sets up the next one and I'm so excited to write that one you guys don't even know.

Disclaimer: I own nothing

Enjoy :)

* * *

Chapter 3

Regina sat at the front counter of her shop, the phone cradled between her ear and shoulder. She was trying to work out the details for a wedding she would be supplying the flowers for, but everything the bride was telling Regina she wanted, the mother disagreed with. They had been on the phone for over an hour and Regina's head hurt. She hadn't even noticed the sun beginning to set outside until the breeze from the door being opened caught her attention.

She looked up to see Ruby's grandmother, known to everyone in town as Granny, held the door open. Regina nodded her head at the older woman and pointed at the phone with an eyeroll. Granny silently nodded her understanding and winked with a finger over her lips before stepping fully into the shop. The sound of little feet running across the concrete floor instantly lightened her mood and when a wild head of blonde curls popped around the counter Regina couldn't help the smile that instantly lit up her face. Regina hadn't realized how much she'd missed her little girl until she was right in front of her.

The little girl stopped short when she saw her mother was on the phone and giggled when Regina spit her tongue out at her.

Regina focused back on her phone call and realized the bride and her mother were now arguing with each other and Regina had had enough. Now that Emma was there all she wanted to do was go home with her daughter.

"I hate to interrupt, but it sounds to me like you have a few things to discuss without me," she said as politely as she could. "Why don't _you_ give me a call on tomorrow whenever you have time and we can finish up the order then." The girl on the phone seemed grateful for Regina's understanding and promised she would call when her mother wasn't around.

As soon as the phone was back on the counter Emma leaped into her mother's lap and wrapped her arms tightly around her. Regina held her little girl close and planted a kiss on top of her head. The brunette looked over at Granny who had been silently watching the pair.

"How was she today?" she asked. Usually Emma behaved herself, but she had her days where she could be a handful.

"She was a little angel believe it or not," Granny answered with a fond smile. "We were even able to get out to the park after lunch."

"Mommy I made a friend!" Emma exclaimed happily, pulling away from Regina so she could see her face.

"You did?"

Emma nodded her head excitedly, "We're bestest friends now," she told Regina seriously.

"The two were inseparable the entire time we were there," Granny supplied. "Thought I'd have to bring home an extra youngster."

Regina raised her eyebrow at that. Emma was usually pretty shy when it came to other kids and it took more than one trip to the park for her to warm up to someone. It was surprising to say the least.

"Thank you for taking her today," Regina said looking over to Granny after Emma wiggled her way out of her lap and ran off to the back room. The preschool had been closed because of a burst pipe and her usual babysitter, Belle, had class all day. Granny had offered to keep Emma with her at the diner/B&B and Regina had happily taken her up on it.

"It was no problem. Like I've told you a thousand times, girl, I'm glad to take her whenever you need an extra hand," Granny assured her. "I will see the both of you tomorrow. Goodnight."

"Goodnight," Regina said with a smile and Granny turned for the door with a wink.

Regina made a few notes on the order she'd been taking before standing from her seat. When she entered the back room she had to laugh at the sight she found. Emma was standing on a chair next to Jefferson who had been putting together several arrangements for their morning deliveries. The four year old was directing Jefferson where to put each flower with a hand on her hip. She was every bit Regina's daughter.

"Emma, are you ready to go?"

"One minute Mommy, Jeff'son needs my help," she said not even turning around. Regina laughed and watched the pair finish putting the flowers in their places.

"Thank you miss Emma," Jefferson said helping Emma down from the chair, ruffling her blonde curls. "I don't know what I'd do without you." He picked up a forget-me-not and stuck it in her hair.

Emma smiled up at him and hugged Jefferson before running over to Regina.

"Let's go Mommy," she said taking Regina's hand and began pulling her toward the door.

"Jefferson, can you close up for me tonight?"

"Go home, Regina," Jefferson said rolling his eyes and shooing her out of the room. "I've got everything under control."

Regina grabbed her bag and jacket before Emma pulled her completely out the door. She looked around the store to make sure she wasn't leaving too much for Jefferson to do alone, but knew he could handle everything, regardless.

Once they were out of the store Regina scooped the little girl up and sat her on her hip. Emma giggled full and loud and Regina's heart swelled at the sound. She started for her car parked in a lot down the street, but was stopped by Emma wiggling excitedly in her arms.

"Mommy, stop!" Emma whined, slapping her hand on Regina's back.

"What is it?" Regina questioned, turning around to see what all the fuss was about.

"My bestest friend!" the four year old squealed, pointing down the street.

Regina followed the girl's finger and saw another little girl coming out of Mal's shop followed by the woman herself. The little girl caught sight of Regina and Emma and her face lit up.

"Emma!" she yelled and took off down the sidewalk toward them.

Regina reacted in an instant when she saw the girl step onto the street. She quickly set Emma down and ran out to meet the girl halfway. Thankfully there weren't any cars coming and she was able to scoop the girl up and carry her the rest of the way across the street. She set her down

next to Emma and breathed out a relieved sigh.

"Lily," Mal called as she ran up to them, out of breath with a hand over her heart. "You know better than to run from me like that," she scolded.

"Sorry Momma," the girl, Lily, said looking down at her feet. "Emma is my friend!"

As if to prove her point, Lily threw her arms around Emma and the two children shared a bear hug. It was undeniably adorable.

"I can see that," Mal said, all anger gone from her voice as she watched her daughter and what appeared to be Regina's daughter take each other's hands and start a conversation she had no idea how to follow.

"They're adorable," Regina commented quietly. She stood beside Mal, watching the girls with a small smile. Her Emma didn't take to other kids this easily, but here she was acting as if she'd known Lily her entire life.

"They are, aren't they," Mal agreed, taking an obvious step away from Regina. "Although I could have done without Lily running into the street. Thank you, by the way."

Regina didn't say anything, only nodded her head. She'd acted on instinct and she was sure Mal would have done the same had their positions been reversed.

An awkward silence stretched between the woman. They hadn't seen each other in the two weeks since Mal came into Regina's shop and that wasn't by accident. A lot of memories and feelings had resurfaced for both woman that they didn't know how to deal with. They'd avoided each other as best they could, but it seemed like that would be coming to an end. All because of the little girls in front of them.

"Momma, I wanna play with Emma," Lily said, turning to look up at her mother while keeping Emma's hand grasped in hers.

"Oh Lily, I think Emma's mom wants to go home and we have to get going as well."

"Mommy?" Emma questioned in a soft voice, looking up at Regina with a pouty lip and big green eyes. It took all Regina's will power not to give in to the puppy dog look, but she stayed strong.

"Not tonight, Em." Regina said shaking her head.

Two little lips trembled at the prospect of having to be apart and tears started to fall.

It was clear Regina didn't know what to say so Mal stepped in.

"You guys can't play tonight," she said and Lily sniffled while Emma rubbed at her eyes with her balled up fists. "But maybe tomorrow we could all go to the park and play then. How does that sound?"

Emma and Lily exchanged a look as if weighing their options before Lily spoke. "Okay, Momma. Pwomise?" she asked holding out her pinky to her mother.

"Promise," Mal assured her, hooking their pinkies together and shaking. "Time to go."

"So, uh, I'll meet you at the park tomorrow then," Regina said, taking Emma's hand once again. "I usually close the shop by five. We could go after that."

"Works for me," Mal said, forcing a pleasant smile. "I have a few appointments, but I should be finished by then."

"Great, maybe we could even grab dinner or something afterwards," Regina suggested hopefully.

"We'll see," Mal said, her smile faltering for a moment before she picked Lily up and started walking back toward her shop.

"Bye Lily!" Emma called to the little brunette.

"Bye Emma!" Lily yelled back, waving over Mal's shoulder.

X

The next day, Regina did her best to go about her usual routine, but she couldn't shake her nervousness at seeing Mal outside a professional setting. She did her best to tamp those feelings down and go about her day, but it was no use. Her face, set in a grimace from the moment she got there, gave her away and Kathryn took notice. The other woman didn't say anything until they took a short break for lunch.

"You're being weird? Why?" Kathryn asked as they sat in the office, take out boxes from Granny's on the desk between them.

"I'm fine."

"Lies."

"Fine. I'm going to see Mal today," Regina mumbled, nibbling at a bite of her salad.

"Really?" Kathryn was intrigued. Ever since this woman had showed up, Regina had been acting strange, she wanted to know why. "Like on a date?"

"That's the last thing she'd want to do, with me especially," Regina said with a humorless chuckle. "Our daughters are best friends now apparently, so we're taking them to the park."

"I see. Why are you so nervous?"

"I don't know," the brunette admitted throwing her fork down and running her hand down her face. "Whenever I'm around her it reminds me how badly I screwed things up. It reminds me how much she hates me."

"What happened?"

"I don't want to talk about it."

"You won't feel better if you keep everything all bottled up," Kathryn advised. "It sounds like you two need to talk. Get everything out in the open and stop avoiding each other."

"We can't even be in the same room together, when exactly are we supposed to talk?"

"Figure it out. You're both adults. If your girls are gonna be friends you're not going to have to be in the same room together whether you like it or not."

"You're right." Regina grumbled.

"I always am," Kathryn said with a smirk. "Who knows, maybe you guys will fall in love again and live happily ever after."

"You're ridiculous," Regina said with an eyeroll. She couldn't deny the idea of being with Mal again was appealing, but it wasn't even the realm of possibility after the way they'd parted all those years ago. "But you give good advice."

"I try."

X

Mal wasn't any better off than Regina. She'd spent the entire day closed up in her work space. She got through all her appointments in record time and took care of all the walk ins. It was unusual to say the least and Ursula and Vic took notice. They didn't say anything at first, but after Mal spent four hours straight with clients they decided to say something.

"Okay, what's going on?" Ursula questioned, stepping in to Mal's private room with Vic right behind her.

"What are you talking about?" Mal deflected, turning her back on the two women to flip through a sketch book.

"You, darling." Vic said bluntly. "You've locked yourself back here all day. Why is that?"

Mal didn't answer hoping that if she ignored them, they would leave.

No such luck.

"You can ignore us all you want, but we're not going anywhere until you talk." Ursula said and leaned back against the door while Vic made herself comfortable in the chair in the middle of the room.

"I'd talk I were you. Make it easier for all of us." Vic added.

"Fine," Mal groaned and rolled her eyes. "I'm taking Lily to the park later with Regina and her daughter."

Understanding dawned on both women and they shared a concerned look. They knew all about what had happened when Mal and Regina broke up, having known Mal long before she met Regina. To put it lightly, it hadn't been pretty.

"Why on earth would you do that darling?"

"Because Lily has gotten attached to this girl and I am not a horrible person."

"Fair enough."

"Just because your kids are friends doesn't mean you have to be friends with Regina. Hell, you don't even have to talk to her." Ursula suggested.

"And look like a complete ass? I don't think so." Mal spat. "Things are awkward enough."

"I think the best thing you can do is to try to work out your issues in order to get along. For the girls' benefit of course." Vic said and Mal and Ursula stared at her as if she'd grown a second head. "What?"

"That just might work." Ursula commented, sounding impressed with her wife.

"Well don't sound so surprised, love. I can occasionally come up with good ideas." Vic said defensively.

"You're forgetting one thing," Mal spoke up. "I don't want to talk to her."

"You can't just bottle up your feelings," Ursula told her. "You need to at least be able to be in the same room without yelling at each other. If you two hate each other the girls are eventually gonna pick up on it."

"I know," Mal admitted. She didn't know about Regina's daughter but her Lily was very intuitive. She'd asked last night why Mal didn't like Emma's mommy and Mal hadn't been able to answer. "It's just a lot to deal with."

"But if you actually deal with it instead of avoid your problems, you'll feel much better. I promise."

Mal was silent for a moment. She knew they were right and in theory their ideas were brilliant. In practice however, that's when the yelling started and feelings were hurt. But sooner or later she would have to face Regina and the pain she'd caused and it was looking like it would be sooner rather than later.

"You two are right," Mal finally conceded. "When did you get so smart?"

"Give us a little credit," Ursula said pushing off the wall and moving to help Vic out of the chair. "We have been married for over ten years."

"That you have," Mal muttered as they left her alone in the room. Her stomach was already in knots and she still had a few hours before she and Lily were supposed to meet Regina and Emma.

She could already tell it was going to be a long night.

* * *

What do you all think?

(My favorite part of this chapter was Ursula and Cruella talking to Mal, that was too fun to write)

Let me know what you think. More to come :)


	4. Chapter 4

Hello! Thank you all for your continued interest in this story and thanks for the reviews and faves/follows.

I am loving writing this and I really hope you all are enjoying it as much as I am.

Disclaimer: I own nothing

Enjoy :)

* * *

Chapter 4

Regina did everything she could to prolong leaving the flower shop, but despite her best efforts she was outside, locking the front doors by 5:02. She let her eyes wander to the tattoo parlor across the street for a moment. The front of the shop was empty aside from a woman leaning over the counter, but she wasn't who Regina was looking for.

Her nerves over the whole thing hadn't subsided, even after her talk with Kathryn, and seemed to only have gotten worse as the day went on. Now that the only thing between being alone with Mal, and the girls of course, was picking up Emma, she was practically shaking. She closed her eyes and turned her back on the adjacent store with a deep, calming breath.

In the back of her mind she knew she was being ridiculous, but she couldn't help it, everything was different with Mal. Her calm and collected demeanor went out the window whenever the other woman was around and with things being so tense between them, Regina was a mess. She didn't want her and Mal's attitudes toward each other to affect Emma and Lily, and she decided to do her best to keep things civil between them in front of the girls.

Plan in place, Regina felt her nerves slowly begin to dissipate and she headed for her car.

X

Mal sat the the park she'd taken Lily to the day before. Lily was happily running around without a care in the world while she sat on a bench, her leg bouncing nervously while she waited for Regina to show up. Her mind went over all the ways this little playdate could end badly, she even had herself half convinced Regina wouldn't show up, and it had her on edge.

After her little chat with Ursula and Vic her mind had been put at ease for about an hour before her imagination got the better of her. There were any number of ways this evening would end and Mal's mind hadn't conjured any that ended well. Lily and Emma didn't need to witness an argument so Mal would do everything in her power to avoid it if she could.

The sound of car tires on gravel caught her attention and Mal looked up to see Regina stepping out of her car. She watched as the other woman opened the back door and the little blonde from yesterday bounded out of the car.

Emma ran as fast as her little legs could carry her toward the playground and Lily ran to meet her halfway. The girls nearly knocked each other to the ground as they threw their arms around each other. Mal couldn't help but smile at how adorable the sight was, but it soon faded when her eyes landed on Regina making her way toward the bench where she sat. The other woman held her hand over her stomach and despite the slight smile on her face, Mal could see the uncertainty in her eyes.

"Hello," the brunette greeted awkwardly, hovering near the end of the bench while she watched the girls.

"Hi," Mal replied, turning her own attention to where Lily and Emma sat under the slide babbling away together.

"How difficult do you think it'll be to separate them again?" Regina asked, glancing down at the blonde.

"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it."

Regina hummed in agreement and pulled her coat tighter around herself. She didn't move to join Mal on the bench and continued to watch the girls. The silence that settled around them wasn't exactly awkward, but it was a far cry from comfortable. After several moments Mal shifted over slightly on the bench and cleared her throat to get Regina's attention.

"You can sit down," she said looking pointedly at the empty space beside her. "I don't bite," she added in a mumble, an undeniable smirk on her face.

"Now you and I both know that's not true," Regina countered in a low voice. She rounded the bench and sat down with a smirk of her own. She was sure Mal hadn't meant for her to hear the last part, but she couldn't resist the urge to return the snark.

Mal let out a chuckle at that. Regina had always been quick to counter her sass, and all the years they'd spent apart hadn't changed that it seemed.

"What's it like?" Regina asked suddenly before the silence between them could stretch too long.

"What is what like dear?" Mal questioned with a raised brow, having no idea what Regina was talking about.

"Having your own shop," Regina clarified, looking over at Mal now. "You always used to talk about having your own place."

Mal nodded her head in understanding. She'd talked about opening her own tattoo parlor countless times over the years, especially with Regina when they were together. The memories of happier times with the woman beside her that rushed through her mind sent a pang of sadness through her chest, but she carried on for the sake of making conversation.

"A bit overwhelming," she answered honestly. "Ursula and Vic are a big help though."

"I know the feeling," Regina commented. "Emma was only a couple months old when I opened the Secret Garden."

Mal fell silent and looked around for the girls. They had moved on from the slide and were hanging from the monkey bars, giggling away. A small smile spread over her face at the sight.

"Lily is a handful now, I can only imagine trying to run a store with a newborn," she finally said, giving Regina the credit she deserved.

"I had a lot of help," Regina admitted, "A lot of friends willing to lend a hand."

For some reason that set Mal's teeth on edge. It irritated her to no end, having to watch Regina's obviously close bond with the people who worked in her store from across the street. They'd been nearly inseparable when they were together and even before that and to compare that to where they were now was infuriatingly heartbreaking.

"We were friends once," the blonde mumbled, looking down at her hands in her lap. She heard Regina inhale sharply. She knew she was dangerously close to the unspoken line that was keeping their conversation civil, but the words left her mouth before she could stop them.

"She's beautiful," Mal quickly commented before Regina could respond, effectively changing the subject and steering the conversation back into safe territory.

Regina's face practically lit up at the compliment, but her eyes looked pained. "Thank you. No thanks to me I'm afraid. Lily is quite the cutie herself."

Mal nodded her head absently at the returned compliment as she found herself more intrigued be Regina's former statement. Surely it was uncharacteristic for a mother not to take credit for their child's looks. Lily looked nothing like herself, but she still took any compliment that came her way and pointed out a feature Lily favored from her. She narrowed her eyes and turned her head toward Regina.

"Oh?" Mal questioned lightly, an eyebrow raised.

On the surface it was an innocent enough inquiry, but Regina seemed to understand the unspoken question. She looked down at her hands and nervously played with her fingers. She bit her lip before looking up from her hands and met Mal's gaze, her eyes brimmed with tears.

"She's not his, if that's what you're asking," the answer came out in a hiss.

"I wasn't..." Mal started, but Regina snapped at her.

"Yes, you were."

Mal watched the muscles in Regina's jaw jump and her fists clench. She'd obviously hit a nerve with her ex, but she couldn't find it in her to care. Now that this can of worms was open there was no stopping it. Civility be damned.

"I take it things didn't end well between the two of you then. Oh what was his name again?" Mal tapped her chin, pretending to think it over. She knew his name, how could she forget?

"Stop," Regina growled, glaring at the other woman. Her eyes swept over the park momentarily to make sure Lily and Emma were out of earshot.

"I don't think I will."

"Please."

It almost sounded like she was begging and Mal paused. Regina was practically shaking with what seemed like a mixture of rage and something Mal couldn't quite put her finger on. For a moment she felt guilty, especially after promising herself she wouldn't instigate a fight, but she couldn't help it. The pain Regina put her through lingered in her heart still and she want her to know that.

"Why? Did he do to you what you did to me?"

Regina didn't answer, only stared straight ahead. Her anger was clear. Good.

Mal was distracted by Emma and Lily running up to the bench.

"We wanna swing," Emma declared, coming to a halt in front of her mother and looking between the two women. When she saw the look on Regina's face her little brow furrowed and she tilted her head. "What'sa matter Mommy?"

"Nothing, sweetheart" Regina lied, subtly wiping at her eyes. She put on a fake smile for the little girls and hoped Mal was doing the same. "Go on over to the swings and I'll be right there."

"Race ya!" Lily squealed before taking off in the direction of the swings.

When she was sure Lily and Emma could no longer hear them, Regina's fake smile vanished and she turned her razor sharp gaze on Mal.

"It is none of your business what happened after we split up," she hissed, which was far more frightening than if she had yelled. "Emma is mine and mine alone. He was long gone when she was born and you do not get to hold that over my head anymore."

With that Regina stood from the bench and stormed off for the swings, leaving Mal to feel like a complete ass. She looked over at Regina pushing Emma and Lily on the swings, a genuine smile on her face as if their conversation had never happened. Mal looked down at her hands guiltily. She hadn't meant to anger Regina that way, she hadn't even meant to bring up anything about their history together, but once she got on a roll she couldn't be stopped. It was a character flaw she was working on.

This wasn't how the evening was supposed be. With a heavy sigh she stood from the bench and made her way over to the swings. She slowly approached the laughing trio with her hands in her pockets.

"Momma, look how high I can go!" Lily hollered, pumping her little legs to swing herself higher and higher.

"Any higher and you'll be flying Lily-bug," Mal chuckled, moving to stand behind her daughter to give her a little push.

Regina ignored Mal's presence all together and moved over to give the other woman a wide berth.

Mal put her head down and watched Lily for a moment before looking back over at Regina. All her attention was focused on the giggling girl on the swing, but her smile was deceiving. Regina had never been good at concealing her emotions, especially from her, and the pain she saw reflected in those big brown eyes weighed heavily on her heart. She could be angry with Regina as much as she wanted, but that didn't give her the right to intentionally hurt her like she had. That was no way to deal with everything that had happened between them. Mal only hoped she hadn't destroyed any chance of them working things out, like Vic had suggested.

The girls were on the swings until they wore themselves out, oblivious to the tension between the women. When Emma and Lily scrambled off the swings in favor of running around the play equipment, Regina sat down in the vacant swing and watched the girls run off the last of their energy.

Mal watched Regina. The way she leaned her head against the cool metal chain in her hand and started moving the swing back and forth gently. The small smile the spread over her face as the girls began a game of tag. It was then that Mal realized that no matter how hard she tried to deny it, she still loved this woman and it seemed like nothing was going to change that. Despite everything they'd been through she hadn't been able to move on in ten years and every moment they spent together only made it worse.

She had two options. She could either continue pushing Regina away and lashing out at her whenever she got the chance, hurting both of them in the process. Or she could sit down and have a real conversation with Regina and try to fix what had been broken all those years ago and maybe start over, if Regina wanted to as well.

Mal just hoped her outburst earlier hadn't ruined her chance for the latter.

"Regina…" she started softly, but Regina ignored her and got up from the swing.

"I think they've finally worn themselves out," Regina said pointing to the two girls who had stopped their game of tag and were laying in the grass. Every now and then one of them would point up to the sky as they watched the clouds.

"It would seem so," Mal agreed.

If Regina heard the disappointment in her tone, she didn't say anything, she just started walking over to the girls. Mal followed a step behind and smiled when Regina sat in the grass next to Emma.

"What are you girls looking at?" Mal heard her ask.

"The clouds, Miss 'Gina." Lily exclaimed happily causing Mal to chuckle softly. Lily was never one to be shy.

"That one's a castle!' Emma said, stabbing a little finger at the sky.

"And a dragon!" Lily added.

Regina leaned back on her elbows and Mal couldn't tell if she was pretending to see what the little ones saw but if she was she was doing a hell of a job playing like she could. It was a lovely sight, right almost, and it would be burned into her memory for a long time.

With the decision to mend things firmly cemented in her mind, Mal silently approached the three to avoid disturbing their daydreaming. She could see the telltale signs of sleepy four year olds as soon as she sank to the ground beside Lily. Lily's eyes were drooping and she had her thumb in her mouth while Emma had moved over to rest her back against Regina's chest, her eyelids getting heavy as well.

"Momma, I'm sleepy," Lily whined, climbing into Mal's lap.

"I bet you are," Mal said smoothing Lily's hair down and planting a kiss on top of her head. She and Emma had been running around non stop for nearly two hours, Mal would have expected them to crash much sooner.

"I think it's time we call it a night," Regina whispered over to Mal, glancing down at Emma to prove her point. The four year old's eyes were closed, clearly on her way to sleep.

Mal looked down at Lily who was losing her own battle with sleep and sighed with a nod. Their evening had come to an end and despite the tension between them both Mal and Regina were disappointed nonetheless.

Regina was aware of the looks Mal was giving her, had been since she had walked over to the swings. She'd picked up on the change in her demeanor the moment it had shifted but she closed herself off anyway. Mal's words had cut deep. It was something they were both good at unfortunately, and though she felt like she deserved every bit of Mal's wrath, having her past mistakes thrown in her face so blatantly reminded her of the night Mal left. That night they'd both said things they didn't mean and at the time Regina thought the damage was irreparable, but now she wasn't so sure.

Yes, being around Mal dredged up a lot of feelings Regina thought she had long buried, but she was wrong. Whenever she caught a glimpse of the other woman around town or when they were forced to interact she was reminded of what they once had and how much she wanted it back. Her feelings for Mal hadn't diminished in the last ten years despite her best efforts and having her back in her life gave her a sliver of hope that they could possibly work through their differences.

She was willing to try if Mal was, all she had to do was figure out if she was or not.

Regina figured they'd had one too many emotional outbursts for the day and decided she would try talking with Mal as Kathryn had suggested another time, especially when Lily and Emma weren't around if things didn't go well. With a little difficulty, she held Emma close and stood as best she could without waking the little girl in her arms. Mal did the same with Lily and once they were both on their feet they headed for the parking lot.

Regina easily got Emma settled in her car seat, the girl was out, and turned to find Mal having a bit of difficulty getting Lily strapped in. Keeping an eye on her own sleeping daughter, Regina made her way over to Mal's car where Lily was putting up a fight.

"I don't wanna go Momma," the little girl whined, shrugging off the straps around her shoulders.

"We have to, it's getting late."

"No, I wanna play. Where's Emma?"

"Emma's over there sleeping," Regina pointed out, moving over so Lily could see into her car. She settled down once she saw Emma fast asleep and stuck her thumb in her mouth. The second her thumb was in her mouth her eyelids began to droop once more.

Mal was able to strap her into her seat and by the time she closed the door Lily's breathing evened out and her battle with sleep was lost. Mal turned to Regina with a grateful expression.

"Thank you," she said, tugging her coat around herself against the cold now that the sun had almost set.

Regina shrugged, shoving her own hands in her pockets. "I figured you wouldn't want a complete meltdown on your hands."

"You'd be correct."

The two stood awkwardly together for a moment before Mal spoke again.

"We'll have to do this again. It was fun."

"Fun?" Regina questioned with a scoff. She shot Mal a skeptical look.

"For Emma and Lily I mean," Mal clarified.

"Emma would love that."

"Maybe next time we could grab dinner as well," she suggested, just like Regina had the night before.

"Sounds good to me," Regina quickly agreed to the plan of another outing.

"Great."

Another weird silence spanned between them and this time it was Regina who broke it.

"Goodbye Mal," she said nodding her head at the other woman.

"Until next time, my dear," Mal replied before turning to get in her own car.

Regina couldn't help the smile that threatened to break out across her face at Mal's parting words. If only things could always be that easy.

* * *

Now this chapter was an emotional roller coaster, but we got some insight into what Mal and Regina are thinking.

Let me know what you think :)

Until next time.


End file.
